Kaspersky Lab Delivers First Anti-Malware , Anti-virus

Kaspersky Lab a leading developer of solutions that protect against all forms of malcious software today announced that is the first to earn a Windows Server 2008 software certification. Windows Server 2008 certification guarantees that Kaspersky antivirus for Windows Server Enterprise Edition is fully compatible with this platform and provides the highest level of integration with its technologies.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows Server Enterprise Edition helps businesses protect data on servers running under the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems (including x64 versions) from all types of malware. The product was designed specifically for corporate servers that experience heavy loads, and can be installed and used in networks of any size. Its reliability and effectiveness, combined with high performance and flexible administration, provide a unique level of protection for corporate servers running on the Windows Server platform.

"Microsoft is very pleased that Kaspersky Lab is a leading innovator, developing solutions that take advantage of the advanced security and core functionality of Windows Server 2008," said Steve Bell, senior product manager of Windows Server marketing at Microsoft. "By certifying its anti-virus solution, Kaspersky Lab is helping customers deploy their solutions on Windows Server 2008 with confidence."

Kaspersky antivirus support for Windows Server Enterprise Edition supports the Server Core installation mode and utilizes new and advanced Windows Server 2008 technologies such as Terminal Services, Remote Applications and Terminal Services Gateway, allowing for further optimization of malware scanning processes.

"Today Windows Server 2003 is the most popular operating system for servers in the world. We believe that Windows Server 2008 will eventually surpass its predecessor and become the new common standard for corporate servers," said Alexey Kalgin, deputy product marketing director at Kaspersky Lab. "We are proud that we are the first IT security company in the world to offer its clients a solution which is certified for Windows Server 2008."

Windows Server 2008 software certification consists of approximately 100 tests that independently confirm an application's compliance with best practices for compatibility, security, reliability, and availability on the new platform, while ensuring the software performs in a 64-bit environment. The certification identifies top-performing technologies that are ready to deploy in mission-critical environments. Details about Windows Server 2008 software certification, its test framework.

About Kaspersky Lab:

The world's most immediate protection against IT security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers, phishing and spam. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection rates and the industry's fastest outbreak response time for large enterprises, SMBs, home users and the mobile computing environment. Kaspersky® technology is also used worldwide inside the products and services of more than 100 of the industry's leading IT security solution providers. the latest on antivirus, how to have an effective antivirus installation, anti-spam and other IT security issues and trends.

source: http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=83525&Itemid=9

New Tool Protects You From Antivirus Gone Wild

FEBRUARY 26, 2008 German security firm has released a security tool that protects antivirus tools from being abused by malware. N.runs built the product after discovering flaws in the parser engines of antivirus and host-based IDS/IPS scanners that could cause these server-based tools to “turn” on their users.

The new Application Protection System Anti-Virus (aps-AV) system sits in front of the email and AV servers. “Aps-AV has been developed and conceived for the special security requirements of large enterprises and government-related contractors or organizations. [But it’s also for] anybody that needs a high level of computer security and maintenance and protection from zero-day” threats, says Thierry Zoller, security engineer for n.runs.

Zoller and Sergio Alvarez, head of research at n.runs, last year discovered hundreds of cases of two types of parser engine bugs in security scanners -- one that let attackers sneak malware past these security tools, and a code execution bug that can read and send email from a victim’s email server to open a backdoor into the network. The vulnerabilities also left the door open for denial-of-service attacks, and for AV tools to help execute malicious code.

The problem with these little-known parser flaws is that they make a layered, defense-in-depth strategy backfire on an organization, Zoller says. N.runs’s aps-AV is aimed at plugging those holes in the email and AV infrastructure, he says, and uses an organization’s existing AV tools. But aps-AV takes potentially malicious data offline to a secure environment for inspection or analysis. That stops parsing attacks from occurring, according to n.runs.

source : http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=146955

AVG Antivirus 8

Installation
We were able to download and install AVG Anti-Virus 8 on a Dell XPS machine running Windows XP SP2 with no difficulty and without rebooting. If you are upgrading from a previous version of AVG, you must uninstall that version first before installing version 8.0. AVG. While installing, AVG asks one critical question: do you want to install the security toolbar? Since it's hard to say whether you want that, we recommend saying no. Although AVG recommends installation, we found that it installs a prominent search box with Yahoo as the default search engine, and little else. Even without the toolbar, we were still able to use the Linkscanner technology.

After installation, AVG walks you through seven steps:

1. Screen one merely describes the wizard
2. Screen two asks how often AVG should update itself
3. Screen three asks if you want to report compromised Web sites to AVG
4. Screen four asks if you want to use the Yahoo search as your Internet browser default (this is the second time you asked to adopt the Yahoo search engine; if you installed the security toolbar, you'll already have Yahoo on your browser via the toolbar)
5. Screens five and six lets you to download updates
6. The seventh step tells you that the seven-step process you've completed is just the first part.

We do not like the interface in AVG Anti-Virus 8. Although it is an improvement over the previous design, the right windowpane is too crowded with large icons. There are nine icons in all. Below each is a statement telling you if that feature is active. Clicking an icon will run either access additional information about that tool or run that specific scan.

The left windowpane includes only three options, Overview (the icon view in the right hand window), Computer Scanner, and Update Now. Computer Scanner has but one option, scan all. Update Now is equally opaque, mysteriously searching and downing something onto your PC.

A toolbar above these windows contains the advanced feature options.

Should you wish to remove AVG Anti-Virus 8, there is a removal option under All Programs. After a reboot, we found a handful of registry entries related to the free trial, and some empty directories in our system directory.

Windows Vista SP1 Blocks Antivirus Programs

A major update to Microsoft ( Windows Vista operating system could leave computers vulnerable to hackers and malware as the service pack prevents several widely used antivirus programs from operating, the company said.

The list of security products that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 blocks includes Zone Alarm Security Suite 7.1, Trend Micro Internet Security 2008, and BitDefender 10. It also blocks the 2008 version of the Jiangmin antivirus product.

Microsoft said the blocks occur because the antivirus programs are not compatible with Vista SP1. "For reliability reasons, Microsoft blocks these programs from starting after you install Windows Vista SP1," the company said in a statement on its support Web site.

Microsoft also said Vista SP1 prevents a small number of other programs from working properly, including Novell's ZCM Agent and The New York Times reader software.

It's not the first glitch for Windows Vista SP1. Microsoft earlier this week a file that's a prerequisite to installing the service pack. The company said the file, known simply as KB937287, can cause host computers to enter an endless cycle of boots and reboots.

Also, Microsoft has delayed widespread distribution of Vista SP1 computer help until it can resolve compatibility issues with some software drivers that control PC peripherals such as mice, keyboards, and printers.

As a result, Vista SP1 won't be available as a manual download until mid-March on Windows Update. Even then, installation will be rejected on PCs with the problem drivers. Affected users who want to access the software regardless will be able to download it directly from Microsoft.com.

Microsoft will automatically push Windows Vista SP1 Computer Help to customers who have signed up for automated downloads from Windows Update starting in mid-April. Again, however, PCs that are using the incompatible drivers will be blocked from receiving it.

Windows Vista SP1 includes more than 300 hot fixes for the operating system, which Microsoft launched a year ago.

Among them: a fix for a problem in which optical disks turn blank after being formatted with Vista's Live File System; a patch for a glitch that generates an error message when large files are copied from one Vista-based computer to another over a network; and an update designed to improve Vista's speed when its operating on a computer linked to a virtual private network.